Dumping mechanisms, commonly referred to as "dumpers" are utilized in industry for discharging loads of loose material, e.g. for loading shot blast machines or other process equipment.
A prior art dumper for such purposes has a chute which is pivotable on a frame about a fixed horizontal axis by a pair of piston and cylinder devices for dumping the contents of the chute.
While such a prior art dumper is useful for some applications, it does present disadvantages due to the fact that the chute pivots about a fixed axis. As a result of such pivotation, the "reach" of the dumper, i.e. the distance through which the chute displaces its contents during a dumping operation, is restricted to a relatively short distance, so that the dumper must be located close to the position at which the contents of the chute are deposited. Consequently, access by operating personnel between this position and the frame on which the chute is supported is restricted.
Furthermore, the use of a fixed axis of pivotation requires a substantial, and sometimes unsatisfactorily high, overhead clearance for pivotation of the chute.
In addition, the pivotation of the chute about the fixed axis has the disadvantage that, as the chute pivots about this axis, the contents of the chute are not discharged gradually from the chute but rather are deposited rapidly and more or less instantaneously.